


What Kind of Day has it Been?

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Starting Over [15]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Family, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-22
Updated: 2012-05-22
Packaged: 2017-11-05 19:45:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/410309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was heady and Beth wanted to enjoy every incredible, if imperfect, moment of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Kind of Day has it Been?

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS FOR HIT/RUN!!!! I'm a full-blown Hotch/Beth shipper now. Bring on Season 8 and more of this awesome relationship.

“We always have burgers and fries on Saturday.” Jack said. “We watch a movie too.”

“Yeah?” Beth smiled.

“Mmm hmm. Dad picked last time so now it’s my turn. But you can pick if you want to Beth.”

Watching a movie was surely better than accidentally seeing anything that might be on the news. She knew Aaron might be gone a while so it was just going to be her and Jack. This would be Beth’s first time and she was looking forward to it. It would be ruined in an instant if the seven year old saw exploding banks and the people he loved the most rushing into a decimated building. So movies were a very good idea. He had bedtime in a few hours anyway.

“Do you and Dad order the burger and fries or make them?” she asked.

“We usually make them but didn’t go to the grocery store for our stuff. We can order from Mr. Burger.”

“I love Mr. Burger.” Beth smiled.

“We have a menu.”

Jack went over to the first kitchen drawer where they kept things like takeout menus and extra screwdrivers for when the cabinet doors were loose. There were a bunch of random things in there. He sifted through old key chains, the handcuffs he and Agent Emily used to play with all the time, a sewing kit set in a little plastic case, and an extra list of emergency numbers in case the one on the fridge got lost. Grabbing the menu, Jack handed it to Beth and closed the drawer.

“What's your favorite, bud?” she asked.

“I wanna Buddy Burger with extra mustard and a tomato and tater tots. Can I get a strawberry shake, Beth?”

There was a small list of things Jack was allergic to or made his stomach hurt. Beth knew that strawberries weren't on the list. But still, she’d been seven once. While he was happy to be spending this time with Beth, Jack planned to use it to his complete advantage. He was probably planning to enjoy all the things his father would never normally let him. 

And she was walking right into his trap. She already knew that Saturday was burgers and fries night though, whenever Hotch was in town. It was just a euphemism for all fast food. So Jack hadn't deceived her about that. A strawberry shake probably wouldn’t hurt either.

“A strawberry shake sounds delicious.” She opened the menu. “I think I'm going to have a dulce de leche one. They’re awesome.”

“I want what you're having.” Jack said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” he gave an enthusiastic nod.

“OK, so two dulce de leche shakes it is. You go and pick the movie while I get us some dinner. You want to do pajamas now or after?”

“After.”

“OK.” Beth nodded as Jack rushed out of the kitchen and back into the living room. 

There was an entire bookshelf full of movies, from classic Hollywood fare to almost everything Walt Disney ever made. She’d watched a good amount of movies over the past few months with the Hotchner men. Jack and his dad were definitely going to have different tastes but Beth always had a good time no matter what they were watching. She sent a quick text message out to Aaron before calling in their dinner. She wasn’t sure if she would get a response considering but it was worth a try to do it anyway. 

‘ _Hope Jack isn’t allergic to milkshakes…it wasn’t on the list. We’re ordering dinner from Mr. Burger. Let me know, if you can, what he shouldn’t have. I'm thinking of you, I'm worried about you, but everything is just fine here_.’ –Beth. She didn’t wait long and was in the process of ordering when a text came through, ‘ _Young Hotchner has a stomach like a steel trap. Milkshakes are fine. I'm thinking of both of you, I'm so glad you're there with him_.’ –Aaron.

“ _A Pup Named Scooby Doo_!” Jack exclaimed, hopping back into the room holding the DVD. “Let’s watch this one, Beth.”

“I think this one will be perfect.”

“Is my Dad coming home soon?”

“I hope so. We always have fun when we watch movies together.”

“He's saving the world.” he said it in a matter of fact tone. “I still want him here with us though.”

“Me too bud.” Beth smiled and rustled his hair. “I know as soon as he's done there’s no place else he's gonna wanna be. Gonna wanna…did that make sense?’

“Yeah.” Jack laughed when Beth did. “And you're gonna stay over, Beth, in our fort? We had a lot of fun last night.”

“I'm not sure yet. I didn’t pack pajamas.”

“Dad won't care.”

“I'm um…” Beth couldn’t help but laugh. 

Jack had no idea what he was saying could mean something else completely. She loved that he wanted her to stay with them. It meant a lot to her and she couldn’t put it into words even if she wanted to. She wanted this, wanted Aaron, wanted to spend time with Jack. 

It wasn’t perfect; so quickly their whole day together went from planned and ready to nonexistent. But he was coming back. He was coming back to her and to them. It was heady. It was heady and Beth wanted to enjoy every incredible, if imperfect, moment of it.

***

“You’ll never defeat me Superman.” Beth moved her General Zod action figure toward Jack. “I have powers beyond your wildest dreams.” Her evil movie laugh wasn’t that great but Jack seemed to like it.

“You can't beat me. The good guys always win.”

“We’ll see about that. Its time for show me what you're made of, Man of Steel.”

“I'm putting you in jail where you belong. Battle on the count of three.”

“I get to count.” Beth said.

“You can't count; you're the bad guy.”

“Well you can't count because I don’t trust the good guys.”

“You always have to trust the good guys. We’re the good guys.” Jack said.

“Maybe we should count together then...in the interest of fairness.”

“OK. We’ll count together. 1, 2…”

“Never trust a bad guy.” Beth said, having Zod jump on Superman before the three count ended.

“Ooh, now I'm going to defeat you.”

They were both laughing like crazy, tumbling and play-fighting with their giant action figures under the fort. Beth was probably going to let Jack win but she’d give him a run for his money. Surely General Zod wouldn’t go down without an epic fight.

“Hey guys!” Hotch walked in, locked the door, and saw the blankets and table moving as they played under the fort. They didn’t seem to hear him so he said hello again. The second time still fell on deaf ears. “Hey, hey, Dad’s home!”

“Dad!”

Jack came running from under the fort and into his father’s arms. Hotch hugged him close, picking him up. He was growing up so fast; almost too big to be in dad’s arms. But as long as Hotch could lift him for a hello hug he was going to do it. The FBI Unit Chief couldn’t help but smile when Beth came crawling from under the fort too. She was dressed in his Washington Nationals tee shirt and a pair of his shorts. 

“I hope you don’t mind.” She said. “Jack told me I had to get ready for bed; I didn’t have backup.”

“Beth can stay, right Dad. I have to defeat Zod.”

“Its getting a little late buddy.” Hotch replied. “You can probably defeat Zod in the morning.”

“Actually, Zod is handling himself well.” Beth said. “Don’t count him out yet.”

“The bad guys never win.” Hotch and Jack said in unison.

“Now you tell me.” she threw up her hands in mock surrender. “Next time I want to be Captain America.”

“OK.” Jack smiled as his dad put him back on the ground.

“I guess I better get ready for bed.” Hotch said. “Beth, can you help me find something in the back?’

“Oh, um, sure.” she smiled and then looked at Jack. “Can you clean up our stuff in the fort, Jack? I don’t think we left a lot of room for Dad.”

“Yeah.” he headed back under the sheets and table.

Hotch took Beth’s hand as they made their way back to his bedroom. He couldn’t close the door completely but he pushed it up and wrapped his arms around her. Beth just held on, feeling him inhale and exhale. It was going to be hard to let him go.

“I'm just glad everyone is OK.” She whispered.

“Will…” Hotch stopped. He wasn’t going to lose it. He sat in his office in Quantico decompressing so that he wouldn’t come home and lose it. “Will and JJ are going to make it official. Dave said they were going to run to a Justice of the Peace on Monday morning but he has something better planned. So, do you want to go to a wedding tomorrow evening?”

“Dave Rossi is planning a wedding in 24 hours?” Beth looked at Hotch.

“Um,” Hotch looked at his watch. “Its 22 hours actually. He's that kind of guy.”

“Remind me when my time comes to walk down the aisle to have him on speed dial.”

He wanted to say something but was unsure what. Hotch found another way to occupy his lips. It seemed to suit Beth just fine. They kissed and hugged for a while. A little adult time was nice before going back out for family time with Jack. 

Family time. The words struck Hotch as he changed into his sweats and tee shirt. Beth had spent the entire day with his son. He came home and they were playing superhero games under the fort. 

A part of him wanted to think about coming home to his family. Another part of him was still worried, Hotch refused to use the word terrified, about his feelings for Beth and the progression of their relationship. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was inevitable…it was the circle of life. 

They would fight about something. She would feel slighted; he would feel guilty. He would want and she would need. She would push and he would pull. It was coming.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

He looked at her, sitting on his bed with her knees to her chest and her socked feet resting on the bed frame. She wore pigtails like the first morning they met. It took Hotch to a place that had nothing to do with fort camping.

“The other shoe is going to drop.” He replied in a burst of honesty.

“I have two pieces of advice that are contradictory but I'm throwing them out there anyway, Hotchner.”

“I'm ready.” When he smiled his dimples poked holes in his cheeks.

“We don’t get enough time together to waste looking up for the other shoe. But just make sure when it falls it doesn’t bean you so hard in the head that you forget how much this can mean to both of us.”

“I think it means something to us already.”

“Raise your hand if you totally adore the other person in the room.” Beth smiled as she raised both hands. Hotch did the same. Then he came over to the bed and held out both hands.

“Upsy daisy.” He pulled her up from the bed. “Jack is going to start to wonder in a minute. Did you have a good time today?”

“We had a blast actually. He’s great on his bike, he makes me laugh something terrible, and despite the fact that we were without our favorite part of the equation, we made the most of Saturday.”

“I'm here now.”

“I was talking about milkshakes. Buddy Burger was out of dulce de leche.”

“Haha.” Hotch smiled and they walked out of the bedroom and down the hall. 

The living room was quiet. Down on their knees, Hotch peeked into the fort first and found Jack sound asleep. It had been a long day for all of them. He could only wish it was so easy to come down from all that happened today. Giving Beth a goodnight kiss, they crawled in on either side of Jack, doing their best to get comfortable. 

Some days it was crystal clear he was a 45 year old man. Beth, in her infinite Beth-ness, had added a few pillows to make the fort more comfortable. She lay on her side and they both watched with surprise as Jack cuddled closer to her. When she smiled, it made Hotch’s heart leap. He stroked the back of his sleeping son’s head. 

Beth leaned to kiss Jack’s forehead as she closed her eyes. Hotch did his best to get comfortable. He wanted to be close to Jack and Beth so he held her hand and then they both placed their hands protectively over Jack. He heard Haley’s voice deep down in his belly; one of the last things she said to him. 

She wanted him to show Jack love, remind him of how wonderful, beautiful, fun, and amazing life could be. There were so many days when he knew he was trying but feared he was failing. But tonight, in their makeshift fort, Jack cuddling with someone who could turn the whole world on with her smile, maybe Hotch wasn’t doing so badly. Maybe they were all going to be alright.

“Are you going to be able to sleep?” Beth whispered. She didn’t want to wake Jack. This wasn’t the most comfortable place she’d slept. Funnily enough it wasn’t the most uncomfortable place either.

“Last night was a real adventure for dad so that remains to be seen.”

“Ditto. But Jack is sound asleep so I guess that’s the happy compromise.”

“You're here…that’s a pretty happy compromise as well.”

“And we managed to do it without the weird conversation.” She replied.

“You didn’t help with the giggling.”

“It was funny. You didn’t see the look on your face…priceless.”

“Go to sleep.” Hotch said smiling.

“Goodnight, Aaron; sweet dreams.”

“Sweet dreams.”

***


End file.
